- A written opinion from a named specialist, usually in 5–10 working days
- Requires imaging files, not just reports
- Costs far less than travelling, and can save you the trip entirely
- It is an opinion, not a diagnosis — the hospital may still want to examine you
What you are actually asking for
Chinese tertiary hospitals review overseas cases in two ways. The first is a records-based consultation: a specialist reads your file and answers specific questions in writing. The second is a multidisciplinary review, where surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists sit together and produce a joint recommendation. The second is more useful for complex cancer or cardiac cases, and takes longer to arrange.
Both differ from what patients sometimes expect. You are not buying a video call with a famous professor, and you are not buying a promise to operate. You are buying a considered second read of the same evidence, from a system that sees a very high volume of your condition.
What makes a file reviewable
The reviewers cannot compensate for missing evidence. In order of importance:
- Imaging files. CT, MRI and PET in DICOM format, on a disk or via a download link. Photographs of films on a lightbox are almost useless for surgical planning.
- Pathology. The full report with block and slide numbers. For a re-read, the hospital will want the actual slides couriered.
- The clinical summary. Diagnosis, date, treatment history, current medication, allergies, and the specific question you want answered.
- Recent bloods and cardiac workup, with units and reference ranges.
Write the question down. "Is there anything else that should be tried?" is hard to answer. "I have been offered a three-vessel bypass; would a stent-first approach be reasonable given this anatomy, and what would you do differently?" is answerable.
Timeline and what lands in your inbox
A records review typically takes 5–10 working days from the moment the file is complete — not from the moment you first send a message, because translation and chasing missing pages is most of the work. What comes back is a written opinion on hospital letterhead, signed by the reviewing physician, covering the assessment, the recommended approach, any additional tests they would want, and an indicative cost and length of stay if you chose to travel.
What it costs
The hospital charges for a formal written opinion; our service fee for arranging it is fixed and quoted before we start. Compared with the cost of an unnecessary long-haul trip, it is small. If the opinion says the treatment you need is available at home, that is a good outcome, not a wasted fee.
Where a remote opinion is not enough
Some decisions cannot be made from images. Anything that depends on how tissue feels, how a joint moves or how a patient responds under anaesthesia needs hands on the patient. Functional neurology, many benign orthopaedic problems and fertility workups all fall into this category. In those cases the honest role of a second opinion is to tell you which examinations a Chinese hospital would add, and whether travelling would change anything at all.